MCX W72 Knowledge hub The MCX W72x family features a 96 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 core coupled with a multiprotocol radio subsystem supporting Matter, Thread, Zigbee and Bluetooth LE. The independent radio subsystem, with a dedicated core and memory, offloads the main CPU, preserving it for the primary application and allowing firmware updates to support future wireless standards. The MCX W72x also offers advanced security with an integrated EdgeLock® Secure Enclave Core Profile and will be supported by NXP's EdgeLock 2GO cloud services for credential sharing.
The MCX W72x family includes Bluetooth Channel Sounding capabilities, with a dedicated on-chip Localization Compute Engine to reduce ranging latency. It incorporates additional memory to support application-specific code, connectivity stacks and over-the-air firmware updates. In addition, the radio subsystem can run the full Thread or Zigbee stack alongside the Bluetooth Low Energy stack. This delivers reliable wireless performance, as the real-time activities of the radio run on a separate core from the application.
Building on NXP's strong history of providing industrial edge solutions, the MCX W series offers a wide operating temperature range from -40 °C to 125 °C and peripherals for industrial applications, including an optional CAN interface and will be part of NXP's 15-year Product Longevity program to support long-term industrial use.
The MCX W series is supported by the MCUXpresso Developer Experience to optimize, ease and help accelerate embedded system development.
Security Certifications
PSA Certified Level 2
SESIP Level 2 Security Target
SESIP Level 2 KW47/MCXW72
SESIP certificate and ST are on TrustCB website
Regulatory Certifications
European Union Declaration of Conformity - FRDM MCXW72
MIC Radio Certificate - FRDM-MCXW72
European Union Declaration of Conformity - MCXW72-LOC
MIC Radio Certificate - MCXW72-LOC
Bluetooth Qualifications
Qualified Products | Bluetooth® Technology Website
Q360996: KW47 / MCX W72 Bluetooth LE 6.0 (Channel Sounding) Controller
Q332147: KW47 / MCX W72 Bluetooth LE 6.0 (Channel Sounding) Host
Documents
MCX W72 Product Family Data Sheet
MCX W72 Reference Manual
Errata Sheet for MCX W72
MCXW72 Hardware Design Guide
Getting Started with Matter on MCX W72 platforms
Getting Started with OpenThread on NXP MCX W72
FRDM-MCXW72 User Manual
Getting Started with the FRDM-MCXW72
MCX W72-LOC User Manual
Bluetooth
Interested in Bluetooth technology?
Bluetooth® Low Energy Primer – Essential reading for understanding BLE fundamentals.
Bluetooth® Specifications – Full list of standards, protocols, and technical documents.
Awards and Recognition - Every year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) celebrates the hard work and commitment of working groups, committee members, and contributors who have been recognized by their peers as making a difference in advancing Bluetooth technology.
2024: Channel Sounding
2025: Channel sounding amplitude-based attack resilience, LE test mode enhancements and Ranging profile and service.
Bluetooth Feature Overview
Bluetooth_5.0_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_5.1_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_5.2_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_5.3_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_5.4_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_6_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_6.1_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_6.2_Feature_Overview
Bluetooth_6.3_Feature_Overview
Application Notes
Software, Hardware and Peripherals:
AN14850 Boosting application performance with MCX W72: This application note describes the usage of the dual-core architecture in the MCX W72 microcontroller to improve performance in generic embedded applications.
AN14937 32kHz Crystal-less mode on MCX W72: This application note provides information on the 32 kHz Crystal-less mode on the MCX W72 device. This mode allows you to reduce the cost of the system, without compromising the 32 kHz clock accuracy. The Free‑Running Oscillator (FRO32K) is used as the 32 kHz clock source and is calibrated against the 32 MHz RF oscillator through the Signal Frequency Analyzer (SFA) module of MCX W72
AN14745 Features, Usage, and Capabilities of Smart Power Switch on the MCX W72: This application note describes the use of the smart power switch in the MCX W72microcontroller. The MCX W72 integrates a programmable solid-state switch that turns connected components on or off, including MCX W72 power domains.
AN14747 Loadpull test Report for MCX W72: This document explains the purpose of measuring the supply current, the transmit power, and the harmonics level. These measurements are monitored while the complex output load seen by the device under test (DUT) is tuned in amplitude and phase.
Power Management:
AN14739 MCX W72 Bluetooth Low Energy Power Consumption Analysis: This document provides the power consumption analysis of the MCX W72 (IIOT) wireless MCU using the MCXW72-EVK board
AN14745 Features Usage and Capabilities of Smart Power Switch on MCX W72 Microcontroller: This application note describes the use of the smart power switch in the MCX W72 microcontroller. The MCX W72 integrates a programmable solid-state switch that turns connected components on or off, including MCX W72 power domains.
AN14841 802.15.4 Matter and Zigbee Power Consumption Analysis for MCX W72: This document provides the power consumption analysis of the Kinetis MCX W72 (IIoT) wireless MCUs.
AN14742 Power Management Hardware for the MCX W72: This application note describes the usage of the different modules dedicated to power management in the MCX W72microcontroller
AN14664 Coincell Hardware Recommendations for Kinetis BLE Applications: his document describes some hardware and software solutions to minimize the peaks of current at the coin cell level
AN14889: FRDM-MCXW72 Radio Frequency System Evaluation Report for Bluetooth Low Energy and for IEEE 802.15.4 This document provides the radio frequency (RF) evaluation test results of the FRDM-MCXW72 board for Bluetooth Low Energy (2FSK modulation) and IEEE 802.15.4 (OQPSK modulation) applications.
RF:
AN14865 Channel Sounding Fundamentals for the KW47 and MCX W72: This document provides an overview of the fundamentals for CS technology and how it can be used for custom solutions and applications.
AN14779 Printed Channel Sounding Antennas for the KW47 and MCX W72: his application note is focused on printed antennas implemented on printed-circuit boards (PCB), designed by NXP for the KW47 and MCX W72 controllers
AN14832 Fundamental Steps to Design a Channel Sounding Board - Creating a Simple PCB without Diversity: In this document, an example of a minimalistic CS subsystem is presented. Attention is paid to the Radio-Frequency (RF) path, since RF circuitry strongly influences the properties of the whole CS application.
AN14747 Loadpull Test Report for MCX W72: This document explains the purpose of measuring the supply current, the transmit power, and the harmonics level. These measurements are monitored while the complex output load seen by the device under test (DUT) is tuned in amplitude and phase.
AN14868 RF Modeling of Channel Sounding in ANSYS: focuses on techniques for simulating and analyzing channel sounding in wireless communication systems using ANSYS tools
AN14855 Channel Sounding Tests in Different Environments: This application note is about Bluetooth Channel Sounding (CS), a technique for measuring the distance between two devices in the Bluetooth frequency band. It explains key factors affecting accuracy
AN14869 Fundamental Steps to Design a Complex Channel Sounding Board: It focuses on creating hardware that supports advanced CS features, including antenna diversity and optimized RF paths, to improve accuracy and mitigate issues like multipath propagation.
AN2731 Compact Planar Antennas for 2.4GHz Communication: This document is not an exhaustive inquiry into antenna design. It is instead focused on helping the customers understand enough board layout and antenna basics to select a correct antenna type for their application, as well as avoiding typical layout mistakes that cause performance issues that lead to delays
Security:
AN14648 MCX W72 In-System Programming Utility: The document provides steps to boot the MCX W72 MCU in ISP mode and establish various serial connections to communicate with the MCU
AN14613 MCX W72 Secure Boot using SEC tool: The MCX W72 is a low-power, highly secure, single-chip wireless MCU, the contents of flash memory can be saved as encrypted data, which can be decrypted instantly. It helps in protecting the sensitive data and algorithms.
AN14646 Debug Authentication on MCX W72: This application note describes the steps for debug authentication using the MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool (SEC).
AN14728 MCX W72 Flash Encryption using NPX: There is an increasing requirement to protect the application code and data stored in flash memories in an encrypted form due to security reasons. The NVM PRINCE XEX (NPX) is a module inside the Flash Memory Controller (FMC) that allows customers to protect the contents of flash regions (up to four regions). It performs on-the-fly, low-latency encryption and decryption of flash contents, and it is transparent to the developer and to the Cortex-M33 platform. No special handle is needed from the perspective of the developer.
AN14644 MCX W72 Managing Lifecycles: This document describes the following: Lifecycle stages that are available to the user, how to access the lifecycles, limitations of the lifecycles, how to transition to the next lifecycle
AN14670 EdgeLock 2GO Provisioning via SPSDK for MCUs: EdgeLock 2GO is a fully managed cloud platform operated by NXP that provides secure provisioning services for easy deployment and maintenance of IoT devices that integrate NXP MCU, MPU, and EdgeLock SE05x secure elements.
AN14624 EdgeLock 2GO PRovisioning via Secure Provisioning Tool (SEC) for MCUs: EdgeLock 2GO is a fully managed cloud platform operated by NXP that provides secure provisioning services for easy deployment and maintenance of IoT devices that integrate NXP MCU, MPU, and EdgeLock SE05x secure elements.
AN14544 EdgeLock 2Go Services for MPU and MCU: EdgeLock 2GO is the service platform of NXP for provisioning and managing IoT devices. It lets you securely install keys and certificates into your devices, either during manufacturing or in the field, and then keep credentials up to date during the device life cycle. EdgeLock 2GO uses the security capability of each device, for optimal levels of security across your entire IoT fleet.
Bluetooth Training
Bluetooth Low Energy 6.0 NXP
Training
MCX W Series Training - NXP Community
RF Switch Comparison Absorptive/Reflective
Standards Comparison ETSI / FCC / ARIB requirements
BLE Channel Sounding - Overview
BLE Channel Sounding - RF Hardware
BLE Channel Sounding - ANSYS Modeling Tools
BLE Channel Sounding - Antenna Prototypes Validation Measurements
Equipment
Wireless Equipment: This article provides the links to the Equipment that helps to the project development
Useful Links
Debug probe firmware installation for the KW47-EVK and FRDM-MCXW72 This post will cover how to install the CMSIS-DAP/SEGGER J-link firmware for the KW47-EVK and FRDM-MCXW72 using NXP’s MCU-LINK installer.
How to generate a Standalone IAR toolchain project from MCUXSDK application example - KWX/MCWX
Updating NBU for Wireless Examples on KW47/MCXW72This post will cover how to update the NBU firmware
How to import and run demo examples with MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code: This article gives information on how to import and run demo examples from the new SDK with ARM GCC toolchain, in MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code.
[MCUXSDK] How to use GitHub SDK for KW4x, MCXW7x, MCXW2x - NXP Community this community post provides step by step how to use GitHub SDK
[MCUXSDK] GitHub SDK - Documentation for Bluetooth LE platforms - NXP Community this community post provides the documentation for BLE platforms.
The best way to build a PCB first time right with KW47 (Automotive) or MCXW72 (IoT/Industrial): In this community provides the important link to build a PCB using a KW45 or K32W148 and MCXW71 and all concerning the radio performances, low power and radio certification (CE/FCC/ICC)
Workaround implementation for DCDC failure during drive strength change a DCDC failure can occur infrequently during a drive strength change to low, and the DCDC output voltage becomes greater than or equal to the current output voltage.
How to use the HCI_bb on Kinetis family products and get access to the DTM mode: This article is presenting two parts:
How to flash the HCI_bb binary into the Kinetis product.
Perform RF measurement using the R&S CMW270
BLE HCI Application to set transmitter/receiver test commands: This article provides the steps to show how user could send serial commands to the device.
Bluetooth LE HCI Black Box Quick Start Guide : This article describes a simple process for enabling the user controls the radio through serial commands.
Using HCI_VENDOR_CONFIG_TX_POWER on KW47 and MCXW72 Bluetooth LE Devices
Kinetis (../45/47/43;MCX W71/72/70) & MCX W23 Power Profile Tools (including Localization): This page is dedicated to the Kinetis (KW35/KW38/KW45/KW47/KW43) and MCX W7x (MCX W71/W72/W70) Power Profile Tools. It will help you to estimate the power consumption in your application (Automotive or IIoT) and evaluate the battery lifetime of your solution.
One Wireless Connectivity Power Profile Tool
KW47/MCXW72 32MHz & 32kHz Oscillation margins: this article provides the properly configuration for the Oscillation margins for the circuit.
Errata ERR053377: Use Cases for Different Message Buffer ConfigurationsThis article discusses the different use cases and configuration of the errata "ERR053377: FlexCAN: Message Buffer (MB) and Enhanced RX FIFO Filter Element (ERFFEL) Memory Corruption"
CAN-FD maximum baud rate on KW47 and MCXW72 This article describes the clock accuracy requirements and FlexCAN configuration needed to achieve the maximum supported CAN FD data rate of 6 Mbps on KW47 and MCXW72 devices. It explains how to use the FRO192 clock in closed-loop trim mode with a 32 MHz crystal reference and provides example code for clock and CAN FD configuration.
Videos
NXP Channel Sounding technology interfacing with Google Pixel 10 This is a demo showing the MCX W72 LOC board interacting with Google Pixel 10 phone using channel sounding
Exploring Bluetooth Channel Sounding on FRDM-MCXW72 - Part 1: In this video, you will see step‑by‑step how Bluetooth® Channel Sounding works using NXP’s Rate2 distance‑estimation solution. Performing the demonstration includes a computer with VS Code, the MCUXpresso extension and toolchains installed, a FRDM‑MCXW72 development board and a smartphone running the BLE Hero application.
Exploring Bluetooth Channel Sounding on FRM-MCXW72 - Part 2: Concluding the demonstration of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, part two of this presentation continues with a brief review of the testing setup and walks you through running board‑to‑board measurements
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